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Association of
Ameritech/SBC Retirees
Dear Members and Friends:
All Active and Retired SBC employees are now receiving the following
letter from SBC. This letter
Ralph Kolderup IMPORTANT: Dependent Eligibility Certification Period Coming Soon! Soaring health care costs in the United States continue to impact SBC, our active and retired employees and their families. Today, SBC spends $2.5 billion a year to provide coverage for nearly 700,000 employees, retirees and their dependents — a cost that continues to escalate. This means we must do everything possible to control our company’s health care spending, including eliminating costs for coverage of ineligible dependents. Eliminating costs for coverage of ineligible dependents is in the best interests of all of us who participate in SBC’s benefits programs. To address this problem, SBC will conduct a dependent eligibility certification. During this time, employees and retirees will be required to verify and certify that their dependent(s) is eligible to continue to receive coverage under SBC’s health (medical, dental, CarePlus and vision) and life insurance programs, as applicable. This will be your one-time opportunity to cancel coverage for ineligible dependents without incurring any penalties or consequences. Be sure to check your mailbox in the next two to three weeks for your certification letter, which will include important instructions and deadlines that you must follow during your dependent eligibility certification period. Once you receive your letter, make it a priority to verify and certify eligibility for your dependent(s). Also, make sure that your SBC Connect user ID is valid and that you know your SBC Connect password. Please note that health and life insurance coverage for your dependents will be terminated if:
Who Is an Ineligible Dependent? Examples of ineligible dependents include: (1) children enrolled in college who do not satisfy the dependent eligibility requirements, (2) former spouses, (3) individuals who are not the employee’s or retiree’s child or for whom he or she is not the legal guardian, etc. To learn more about who is considered an eligible dependent, you should:
You also may request a printed copy of each of your SPDs at no cost to you. Go online to the Summary Plan Descriptions section of the SBC employee benefits intranet site or of the Benefits section of access.sbc.com and select the Order a Printed Copy link for the applicable SPD. Or, you may call SBC Connect to request a copy. Thank you for helping us control our company’s health care costs.
Important:
Enrollment of an ineligible dependent in an SBC benefits plan or program
constitutes benefits fraud. SBC reserves the right to request verification
of dependent status at any time and will vigorously pursue any fraudulent
activity. This document was written for easy readability. Therefore, it may contain generalizations and colloquialisms, such as “SBC employees,” rather than precise legal terms. For full details, including eligibility, you should consult the summary plan descriptions, summary of material modifications or the official plan documents. In all cases, the official plan documents govern and are the final authority on the terms of the plans. The SBC companies reserve the right to terminate or amend any and all benefit plans, subject to applicable bargaining requirements. Participation is neither a contract nor a guarantee of future employment.
2005 Dependent Certification
2/25/05 |
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